In Love with Lavender

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Why we Love Lavender:

  • Scent/Fragrance
  • Color
  • Easy to Grow
  • Flowers can be enjoyed fresh or dried
  • Flowers can be used in crafts, cooking & medicinally
  • Thrives in poor soil
  • Drought tolerant
  • Attracts pollinators
  • Deer and rabbit resistant

Lavender has its roots in the Mediterranean Counties. So think in terms of full, intense, hot sun and rocky stony soil that’s not especially nutrient rich, but has good drainage. Southern Oregon has ideal conditions for growing lavender.

Most garden centers offer three major species of lavender:

  • Lavandula stoechas  (aka: Spanish Lavender) – Can be recognized by it cone-like spikes, it is usually the first to bloom in late March or early April. It has a strong camphor or piney scent. This pollinator friendly is not used in cooking, crafts or in oil production, but because it is the first to bloom, it has a place in the garden; it looks nice planted in mass and provides an early food source for bees and pollinators. If pruned it may re-bloom in August or September. Not as cold hardy as English or French lavenders.
  • Lavandula angustifolia (aka: English Lavender) – English Lavender is the scent most people associate with lavender. Its colors range from white, pick, blue to deep purple. English Lavender is used for fresh cut flower, dried flowers, potpourris, cooking, and for oil distillation.  English lavender can range in size from dwarf (12 inches), semi-dwarf (20 inches) and tall (46 inches).  Plants bloom May though June and are cold hardy.  Some varieties will re-bloom if pruned after flowering.
  • Lavandula X intermedia (aka French Lavender) – French Lavender is a hybrid of L. angustifolia and L. latifolia. French Lavender blooms in mid-summer. It is one the tallest of the lavenders and its long strong stems are good for using in crafts. French lavender produces more oil than L. angustifolia, but the quality is not as fine. Plants are cold hardy.

Guide to Growing Lavender

  1. FULL SUN – 6-8 hours of sun or more. Less than six plant may become spindly and leggy and with fewer blossoms and less scent.
  2. GOOD DRAINAGE- Lavenders tolerate poor soils, but they must have good drainage.  In areas of clay amend the soil to improve drainage. Or build raised beds, or berms using compost, sand and decomposed granite to produce optimal soil for lavenders.
  3. Water Infrequently – Lavenders are drought tolerant meaning they prefer dry conditions. Once the rains ends, water once in June, then every two weeks when temperatures reach high 90s-100s. Scratch the soil’s surface, or use a water gauge to determine if the lavender needs watering.  (Note: first year water more frequently until roots are established)
  4. Pruning – Harvesting flowers is not the same a pruning. Prune lavenders at least once a year to maintain size and shape. To prune cut back about 1/3 of the plant.
  5. The best time to harvest lavender is when the bottom flowers of each stem are just beginning to open. This is when the lavender is at its most vibrant and fragrant. Cut the flowers at the base of the stems near the foliage.

Mark your calendar:
Southern Oregon Lavender Festival
June 19th, 20th, and 21st, 2020

The following are some of the Lavender varieties developed, or identified, by Oregon Lavender growers:

  • Betty’s Blue,
  • Buena Vista,
  • Melissa,
  • Premier,
  • Royal Velvet,
  • Sachet,
  • Sharon Roberts,
  • Ana Luisa,
  • Jennifer
  • Goodwin Creek

Article by: Rosenelle Florencechild, Jackson County Master Gardener, and JCMG Lavender Garden’s Manager & Head Gardener